Glentruss Halt - A '00' DCC layout ?

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Dad-1
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Location: Dorset - A mile from West Bay.

Glentruss Halt - A '00' DCC layout ?

Post by Dad-1 »

Hi Everybody who bothers,
Recently I had a nast shock ..... I looked at the cover of a magazine and thought 'That's bad, not prototypical', and a few other things didn't look right. Oh my I thought I'm becoming a rivet counter .... Help .... Help !
The recent activity regarding 0-4-0's and 4 wheel coaches (on the Hornby Mfrs section) kinda got me going. As a result I won a Caledonian Railways pug on Ebay and decided to make an interesting and extensive, but complex layout.
The planning lasted ages, should I use 1st, 2nd, 3rd radius curves, how many turnouts, should they be powered. Then what about baseboard design, don't want it to distort, should I use cork underlay to keep the noise down ????

Photo at end of planning with an A4 sheet of possible ideas !!

Image

Then it came to me THAT is the size ........... so this is the beginning of an A4 sized DCC '00' layout for an imaginary part of the Caledonian Railways, opened in 1881, well that's what we think, but as this is just one stop up from the distillery who know ??

More to follow .....

Geoff T.
B@rney
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Re: Glentruss Halt - A '00' DCC layout ?

Post by B@rney »

I love the fact that you have spent so long setting up the photo....

now thats a class act!!
Brianetta
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Re: Glentruss Halt - A 'OO' DCC layout ?

Post by Brianetta »

Dad-1 wrote:Hi Everybody who bothers,
Hi!

Why not do that old trick of building your layout in a box file? The big advantage is that it's walled, and that the walls are taller than OO trains.

First radius or smaller would be cool for short wheel base four wheeled things. I don't think you can get a full run-around at even A3 sized, but you can have a pretendy one using parallel tracks and a pair of cassettes.
Dad-1
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Joined: Sun Aug 24, 2008 8:05 pm
Location: Dorset - A mile from West Bay.

Re: Glentruss Halt - A '00' DCC layout ?

Post by Dad-1 »

Hi Brianetta, & B@rney,

Brianetta, I don't have a file box spare and I wanted to spend nothing, but scratch together from bits and pieces in the garage. It is a pee take, yet quite serious as I want a good looking result.

B@rney all the scenes will be created, just like we do on our layouts - All the worlds a stage and I enjoy playing trains (Will Brunel or someone like)

So here is some more baseboard work. I didn't have any 12 mm marine ply so am using 6 mm MFD. The sawing left a dialema, should I use the fast jig saw, the fine jig saw, the good saw or the rusty and blunt saw. Well as a man I decided to use the rusty saw, being slow and labourious to cut it saves bothering to go to the gym. It also has blunt teeth reducing the chance of cutting oneself and as such is approved by the Health & Safety Executive.

There will be a 7 inch ( Just got to use Imperial) backing on which to paint some sky and have a reasonable height rock face by the track. This exercise passed without incident.

Image

Geoff T.
Brianetta
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Re: Glentruss Halt - A '00' DCC layout ?

Post by Brianetta »

Don't forget to save some of that MDF for use as cassettes. Just a miniature plank with enough rail for one train, and perhaps some edges by which to hold it. Perhaps something ingenious involving paperclips to get power to the rails. Two of those, and you're fiddling.
B@rney
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Re: Glentruss Halt - A '00' DCC layout ?

Post by B@rney »

Just noticed the "extra" magazine on the table!!! :o
Dad-1
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Location: Dorset - A mile from West Bay.

Re: Glentruss Halt - A '00' DCC layout ?

Post by Dad-1 »

Hi B@rney,

I had to search my youngest sons shed for that one - mind you he left home many years ago and it was thick in cobwebs ...... I hope !!. It's all a bit of a mickey take against anyone who starts to take things too seriously (as I was beginning to). As I said all very carefully stage-set - just glad I didn't have to empty those 4 glasses or I would have needed some black coffee.

And Brianetta I am thinking about adding a similar size extension on the planned water tower side. I could add a point to that one. As it is I realise that I'll need to buy, yes BUY a couple of Edwardian figures, a working station platform lamp, and a water tower.

Geoff T.
Michael Thornberry
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Re: Glentruss Halt - A '00' DCC layout ?

Post by Michael Thornberry »

Hello Geoff,
Nice Post, mate, it's good to have a bit of "fun" :lol: . "We pass this way but once" and we're a "long-time dead". Keep-up the Good Work,
Kind Regards,
Michael Thornberry.
Dad-1
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Re: Glentruss Halt - A '00' DCC layout ?

Post by Dad-1 »

Thanks Michael,

One can still have serious intent, but as you say life should be fun whenever possible !

After the extensive planning and construction phase (of today) I can now reveal the main outline on board 'A'. The PVA is still setting on the rear upstand so I'll be unable to do any additional work today. As I use a wet mix of plaster & saw dust for my scenery build-up I'll have to paint the MDF with external grade varnish before I can go much further. To obtain the saw dust no doubt much head scratching must occur. I also have to make a suitable base onto which I may get 2 boards, this may become expensive if I do choose to use a point. I did contemplate 3" x 1" as this is frequently reccommended, but I think a lighter frame will do.

Image

Geoff T.
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Merv
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Re: Glentruss Halt - A '00' DCC layout ?

Post by Merv »

Hi
I'm currently only armchair modelling due to lack of space but this could be a good solution, it seems to fit on the lap
Merv
Currently Armchair Modelling

Not at all Fluffy
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ceejaydee
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Re: Glentruss Halt - A '00' DCC layout ?

Post by ceejaydee »

Small locos and Hornby 4-wheeled coaches - I'm interested.
Dad-1 wrote:I had to search my youngest sons shed for that one - mind you he left home many years ago and it was thick in cobwebs ..
Things have moved on, I think in line with the current range they call it Focus now! :roll:

How long will the tunnel be? :lol:
Regards
Christopher D.
Dad-1
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Re: Glentruss Halt - A '00' DCC layout ?

Post by Dad-1 »

C'mon ceejaydee,
You mention coaches ........ I shall be lucky if I get 1 behind my 0-4-0 Pug on this. Sadly the tunnel will be up the line out of sight. It's like this, the halt before Glentruss is the distillery, the emptys are left at Glentruss for uplifting and shortly further up the line a black tunnel is arrived at. The reverse route ? who knows ?

Hey Merv, you could build two or three that plug together on the table ........

Geoff T.
Dad-1
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Joined: Sun Aug 24, 2008 8:05 pm
Location: Dorset - A mile from West Bay.

Re: Glentruss Halt - A '00' DCC layout ?

Post by Dad-1 »

Hi All,

After a bar room brawl between the Irish and Scots navies track laying was delayed (as I went shopping) but by afternoon things had settled down. The next serious job is adding in the DCC bus and part ballasting. Then it's sawing out the hardboard shapes to make up the platform.

Image

I've even tried to see if I can add an extension that will take a point to allow the Pug access to that siding where water and coal will be available. I've found that will need to be longer than A4, by as much as 50%. So I'm thinking of making a frame into which both Glentruss and an extension will fit, each board having a small plug going into sockets in the holding frame.

Geoff T.
Dad-1
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Joined: Sun Aug 24, 2008 8:05 pm
Location: Dorset - A mile from West Bay.

Re: Glentruss Halt - A '00' DCC layout ?

Post by Dad-1 »

A little progress was made last evening,
Some brown ballast was laid - I used Woodland Scenics 'Fine' brown, previously I've used 'Medium' and always thought it slightly oversize for '00'. Now however I will use medium for any other layout, not that fine looks wrong, but simply that laying fine is a much slower and more difficult job. Why? Well I must leave clean rails and sleepers so picking off grains of fine ballast with the point of a cocktail stick is to say the least time consuming !!

Image

There is also a mistake ...... can you see it ?? The final ballasting will have to wait while the platform and buffer stop are added.

Geoff T.
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egroeg93
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Re: Glentruss Halt - A '00' DCC layout ?

Post by egroeg93 »

hang on, your building a layout 28x21cm..? Why? I really cant understand this.. but I wish you luck!!
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